Community football clubs ask for Victorian Amateur Football Association switch as rising player payments bite

RISING player payments have forced several community football clubs to investigate a move to the Victorian Amateur Football Association.

VAFA Footy: Old Scotch v Old Trinity at Camberwell Oval. Evgeni Routman and Ed Weatherson.

SUBURBAN  football clubs struggling to compete with Melbourne’s biggest spenders are considering moving to the Victorian Amateur Football Association.

VAFA chief executive ­Michael Sholly told the Leader there had been an increase in the number of clubs inquiring about joining its ranks in recent years.

“Clubs are seeking an ­alternative to having to put up with the high cost of paying players in metropolitan leagues,” Sholly said.

Players in the VAFA are not paid, making it an attractive alternative for cash-strapped clubs.

“We do have to be mindful that amateur football provides an alternative and if we continually just increase the number of teams it could threaten the clubs within that area,” Sholly said.

“It’s not just a case of saying, ‘Let’s bring in that team’. There might be another side that is just around the corner that is an amateur club and provides an alternative already in the area.”

Sholly would not be drawn on the location or names of clubs who have sought a move but said inquiries had come from across Melbourne.

He said the VAFA had asked its members for ­feedback on the number of clubs in the competition and ­potential expansion.

“A number of these clubs might be on the fringes of Melbourne and it makes travel difficult for one club to go from one side of Melbourne to the other,” he said.

At least two clubs appear set to join the VAFA’s senior competition next year, with Mt Lilydale and Masala expected to make the jump to Division 4. The clubs have been playing in the Club XVIII competition this year.

A working party, comprising members from AFL Victoria and country and metropolitan competitions, has been examining the issue of rising player payments across the state since February.

Clubs have been asked for feedback on the issue by AFL Victoria through an online survey.